Adults may hear about “The Hook Up Culture” – maybe through TV shows, movies or pop culture references – but for 11-to-18 year olds today, the Hook Up Culture is their reality… it’s where they live today!
Disproportionately, most 11-18 year olds in America are unfamiliar with intact marriages, or if they knew of one, it ultimately ended in divorce. Therefore they simply don’t understand the value of marriage.
But, they are also being fed a constant message that it’s okay to engage in sexual behavior before marriage and there are no consequences for it.
Yet, Science says something altogether different.
In the Hook Up Culture, you’re going from person to person, not establishing a relationship with any of them… just “hooking up”.
A generation ago, this would have meant that you would call someone, get together and innocently hang out together… that was a hook up. Today, however, there’s a whole new meaning to those words. It means that you’re going to hook up with someone you may or may not know, you’re going to have sex – with no commitment afterward. Think about the movies “Friends with Benefits” and “No Strings Attached”.
For today’s youth, that’s their reality.